Transfer apparatus



June 12, 1951 v. G. WILLIAMS ETAL TRANSFER APPARATUS 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Dec. 3, 1946' June 12, 1951 v. G. WILLIAMS ET AL TRANSFER APPARATUS 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Dec. 5, 1946 N; W EH70? 2% 6w? June 12, 1951 v. G. WILLIAMS ET AL TRANSFER APPARATUS s Sheets-Shet 5 Filed Dec. 3, 1946 Patented June 1 2, 1951 TRAN SFEE APPARATUS Victor'G. Williams Walter Wood, and Lawrence G. Bateman, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, assignors, by mesne assignments, to Delamere & Williams Company, Limited, Toronto, Ontario,

Canada Application December 3, 1946, Serial No. 713,668 In Canada September 30, 1946 3 :Claims. 1

This invention relates to transfer apparatus, more particularly to transfer apparatus for removing bags from a bag forming, filling and sealing machine and delivering them to a receiving station.

The object of this invention is to lift the containers or bags from the carrier of the machine and. deposit them in predetermined numbers in difierent locations.

This object is achievedby picker members having jaws for grasping the containers seriatim and lifting them from the carriers and means for opening the jaws to release the containers and deposit them in predetermined numbers in different locations.

The invention is illustrated, by way of example, in the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a side elevation of the feed side of a bagging machine incorporating the transfer apparatus;

Figure 2 is a plan view of the machine;

Figure 3 is a side perspective View of a filled sealed bag;

Figure 4 is an end view of a filled sealed bag;

Figure 5 is a perspective view on an enlarged scale of a pair of grippers in closed position showing their mounting;

Figure 6 is a cross section through the track on which the grippers ride and the conveyors showin the gripping fingers partly in side elevation; and

Figure 7 is a cross section through the bag collecting mechanism.

In the main assembly views certain details are omitted for the sake of clarity, these details where important being shown in detailed views.

In the drawings like numerals of reference indicate corresponding parts in the different figures.

Grippers The bag forming and sealing mechanism is mounted on a rectangular hollow base I having a cover plate 2. An endless carrier 3 formed as a chain meshes with a sprocket wheel 4 at one end of the machine and another sprocket at the other end of the machine not shown. The latter sprocket is keyed to a vertical shaft which is driven by a motor. Projecting from the chain 3 are a plurality of arms 1 on which are pivotally mounted grippers 8.

The grippers B comprise U-shaped fingers 8 and 8 (see Figures 5 and. 6) pivoted on a pivot pin In which extends through the end of arm 1 and are adapted to swing on the pivot pin so as to bring the opposed fingers together and clamp a strip of bagging material between them as hereafter described. These fingers are shown on an enlarged scale in Figures 5 and 6, and it will be observed that a coil spring 9 passes around pivot pin 10 and engages the cross pieces of the fingers tending to force them together. A pin 8 mounted on arm 7 extends axially of the pin [0 between the fingers 8 and 8 and acts as astop to hold them in vertical position when closed.

For most of the travel of the grippers they slide on abar or track l I. Extending downwardly from the cross pieces of the fingers B and 8 at each side of their cross pieces are lugs i2, I2 which engage the sidesof the track 5 I. At the point where thestrip of bagging material is fed to the machine the track H is spread as shown in Figure 6 thus forcing lugs l2 outwardly and spreadingthe pper members so that the bagging material can be fed between them. When the material has been fed between them, the track narrows permitting the gripper members to close under the influence of the spring 9 thus gripping the folded bagging material as hereafter described. N0 track is provided at each end or at the point where the bags are cut.

Collecting Mechanism After final sealing the bags in the form shown in Figs. 3 and 4 are carried by the carrier to the collecting mechanism where the grippers release the bags and they are picked up by cam actuated fingers which deposit them on a conveyor.

The filled bags held in grippers 8 carried on chain carrier 3 pass around sprocket 4 at which point the arms I which support the grippers extend radially and the grippers are spaced apart.

Collecting mechanism After final sealing the bags in the form shown in Figs. 3 and 4 are carried by the carrier to the collecting mechanism where the grippers release the bags and they are picked up by cam actuated fingers which deposit them on a conveyor.

The filled bags held in grippers 8 carried on chain carrier 3 pass around sprocket i at which point the arms I which support the grippers extend radially and the grippers are spaced apart. At the point where the pickers grip the bags the track I l widens opening the grippers 8 to release the bags.

The pickers i4! extend outwardly radially from sleeve I48 rotatably mounted on vertical post Ml] and are adapted to grip or clamp the b gs one by one bef re the jaws are opened.

swing them upwardly clear of the grippers after the jaws thereof are opened and deposit them on a conveyor. In the drawings for clarity and simplicity only a few of the pickers are shown. Extending from sleeve I48 is a disk I56 to which is bolted a plurality of hinge straps I5I to which the pickers Hll are hinged for vertical swinging movement.

The pickers comprise a .bell crank I4! having a downwardly extending jaw at its outer end. Slidably mounted on bell crank Mll is slide member Hi7 also having a downwardly extendin jaw at its outer end adapted to co-operate with jaw on bell crank I li to clamp a bag between them. The inner end of each bell crank I I'I is provided with a roller I iI'i adapted to engage fixed cam i52 secured to frame member I53. The cam I52 is so formed as to trip the bell cranks and lift the pickers after the bags have been clamped between the jaws to lift the bags out of the grippers and to drop the pickers to horizontal position after bags have been removed from the grippers.

A coil spring Hi l is connected to the lower end of bell crank I5! and to a pin on the disk I56. The spring retains the roller H3! in contact with cam I52 to pull the pickers down after they have been raised by the cam. To open the jaws to receive the bags and to release them, two fixed cams I55 and I56 are provided. These cams are mounted one above the other on the vertical post 39 above the pickers. Extending upwardly from half of the slide members Ml are two cam rollers I51 and I58 and from the other half a single cam roller I59.

As the pickers rotate the lower rollers [51 and the rollers I59 first engage cam surface A on cam I55 causing the slide members on which the rollers are mounted to move outwardly separating the jaws and thus opening the pickers to receive the upper edge of a bag. This occurs after the picker has been lifted by cam I52 over the grippers and as it is descending over a bag. The roller then passes out of engagement with the cam and slide member I l'I is pulled back by spring Idl which is connected to bell crank I4! and to a pin M'I which is connected to slide member NW and extends through a slot in bell crank I41. This closes the picker jaws to grip the bag.

As the pickers rotate further the upper rollers I58 successively engage upper cam I56. This pushes the slide members on which the rollers are mounted outwardly releasing the tea bags to drop them on sloping member I which delivers them to conveyor WI. The lower rollers I51 and the rollers I59 do not engage this upper cam I56 so only half of the bags are dropped at this point. Subsequently the lower rollers I51 and the rollers I59 both engage cam face B of the lower cam I55 Opening the jaws and permitting the bags which have not previously been released to drop on the conveyors. Since the upper rollers have already opened certain of the picker jaws to discharge the bags clamped therebetween, as above described, some of the picker jaws when opened by lower cam I55 will not discharge bags.

In the preferred embodiment of the invention there are twenty picker members divided into four groups of five, alternate groups of five being provided with two sets of rollers. Thus the bags will be deposited on the conveyor in spaced groups of five. When the upper cam I56 opens the jaws of a group of five pickers the bags will drop onto the conveyor at the same place in succession. The next group of five pickers having only the single roller will not open as they pass cam I56 and will remain closed until their rollers engage the lower cam I55. Thus the bags held by these pickers will be deposited seriatim on the conveyor at a different place on the conveyor. Therefore the bags will be deposited on the conveyor in two rows and in spaced groups of five so that they may be readily counted and boxed in any desired multiples of five. Of course the number of bags in each group may be varied as desired by changing the number of pickers having one or two rollers respectively.

As shown in Figure '7, sleeve IE8 is rotated on shaft I49 by means of chain I66 which passes around sprocket I I8 on sleeve I48 and around sprocket I6I on vertical shaft I62 which is driven by spiral gears from longitudinal one-third speed shaft TI.

The conveyor may be of any usual construction and need not be described in detail.

It is thought that the construction and use of the invention will be apparent from the above description of the various parts and their purposes. It is to be understood that the form of our invention herewith shown and described, is to be taken as a preferred example of the same, and that various changes in the shape, size and arrangement of parts may be resorted to, without departing from the spirit of our invention, or the scope of the subjoined claims.

What we claim as our invention is:

1. In a packaging machine having a carrier for advancing containers, a rotatable standard, a plurality of picker members mounted on and projecting therefrom, each picker member having separable normally closed jaws, a fixed cam adapted to first engage some of said picker members to momentarily open their jaws at a predetermined location, the said jaws thereafter returnin to closed position, and another fixed cam adapted to subsequently engage all of the picker members to momentarily open all of their jaws, including those previously opened, at a predetermined other location.

2. In a packaging machine having a carrier for advancing containers, a rotatable standard, a plurality of picker members supported on said standard, each picker member having a fixed finger and a slidable finger, mutually engageable jaws carried by the fingers for grasping the containers, spring means normally retaining the fingers with their jaws in closed container gripping relationship, two cam engaging members on some of the slidable fingers and a single cam engaging member on the other of said slidable fingers, a cam adapted to engage one of the two cam engaging members on the said some of said slidable fingers to move the slidable fingers having said two cam engaging members relative to their cooperating fixed fingers to momentarily open their jaws, the said jaws thereafter returning to closed position, and another cam adapted to engage the other of the said two cam engaging members and the said single cam engaging members on said other of said slidable fingers to move all the slidable fingers relative to the fixed fingers to open all of the jaws.

3. In a packaging machine having a carrier for advancing containers, a rotatable standard, a plurality of picker members carried by said rotatable standard for grasping the containers on said carrier seriatim and lifting them from the carrier, each picker member comprising a first-finger pivotally mounted on the standard for vertical swinging movement and a slidable finger REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

6 UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date Wales Apr. 29, 1902 Rehfuss May 31, 1921 Stenhouse et a1. June 2, 1931 Hutchinson May 2, 1933 Ingle Aug. 8, 1933 Irmscher Apr. 24, 1934 Shillinger et a1. Sept. 25, 1934 Smith Apr. 30, 1935 Scott June 1, 1937 Howard Sept. 28, 1943 Rohdin Jan. 8, 1946 Fry et a1. Feb. 26, 1946 Marziani Jan. 14, 1947 Hurst Apr. 1, 1947 

